1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention pertains to a system that transfer heat to and from a source liquid, such as well water, thus providing both heating and cooling individually or simultaneously.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
The extraction of heat from water, such as well water, to heat buildings, both residential and commercial, has been explored in recent years. In addition, cooling buildings by using well water has also been known. These systems, often referred to as geothermal heating or cooling systems, have been, for the most part, inefficient. For example, the extraction of heat from water using a refrigeration system, commonly referred to as a heat pump system, has not been practical due to the requirement of maintaining a high head pressure on the compressor to continuously maintain a tank of water at a predetermined temperature. An excessive amount of energy is used in starting the compressor each time the tank is needed to be brought up to temperature.
One system described in the Dittell U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,368, which was was issued to the applicant of the present application, describes an efficient system for extracting heat from well water using a refrigeration cycle that extracts heat from the well water and stores the heat in water contained in storage tanks. This system, however, does not provide for a way of cooling a building and thus a separate cooling system is needed.